In December 1999, LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson tried to split with their manager, Mathew Knowles, claiming that he was keeping too much of the group's profits and that he favored Beyoncé Knowles and Kelly Rowland.[4] When the music video for "Say My Name" debuted in February 2000, Roberson and Luckett found out that they were being replaced with Michelle Williams, a former backup singer for Monica, and Farrah Franklin, an aspiring singer-actress.[4] In July 2000, just five and a half months after joining, it was announced that Franklin would be leaving the group.[4] According to the group, Franklin missed a handful of promotional appearances and concerts and was asked to leave the group.[4] Franklin stated that she quit because of negative vibes in the group and her inability to assert any control in decision making.[4]

After emerging as the group's focal point, Knowles assumed more control taking a greater hand in writing the material and even producing some of the record herself.[5] Knowles' intention was not to monopolize the spotlight, however, she did co-write and produce all of the album's 18 cuts. She explained, "I only wanted to do like three songs... The label kept saying "Do another song, do another song, do another song". It wasn't planned. It wasn't like I said, OK, I'm going to take charge."[6] The album was originally planned to be called Independent Women, but was later changed to Survivor because of the turmoil that has coincided with the group.[7]

The song "Survivor" was inspired by a joke that a radio station had made about the fact that three members had already left the group, comparing the band to the Reality Game Show, Survivor.[8] Knowles was inspired to take the negative comment and turn it into a positive thing by writing a song out of it.[8] Knowles wrote the song "Bootylicious" on a plane flight to London while listening to the track "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks when the word "Bootylicious" just popped in to her head.[6] This claim has been highly disputed as Rob Fusari said in a 2010 interview that he alone had the idea for the song and had wanted to use a guitar riff from the song "Eye of the Tiger" but after not being able to find it used a similar riff from the Stevie Nicks song "Edge of Seventeen". After hearing Beyoncé claim credit for the song in an interview with Barbara Walters, he telephoned Mathew Knowles,

And he explained to me, in a nice way, he said, "People don't want to hear about Rob Fusari, producer from Livingston, N.J. No offense, but that's not what sells records. What sells records is people believing that the artist is everything." And I'm like, "Yeah, I know, Mathew. I understand the game. But come on, I'm trying too. I'm a squirrel trying to get a nut, too."[9]

While recording sessions were going on, Rowland recorded the song "Angel" which appeared on the soundtrack of Down to Earth.[5]

The album received generally positive reviews. Survivor received a score of 63 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]Entertainment Weekly praised the album, calling it "the divas' premature, but inevitable growing pains album."[13]Spin commented that "Survivor is relentlessly inventive in its recombinations."[19]New York was less impressed, saying: "All fifteen tracks are one-dimensional disses and dismissals of scantily clad women, vengeful boyfriends, and the group's assorted doubters." AllMusic commented that the album is "as contrived and calculated as a Mariah Carey record, only without the joy."[11]

Survivor debuted at number-one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 663,275 copies, the highest first-week sales figures of any female group in the SoundScan era and the highest first-week sales figures of any album in Columbia Records' history. It remained atop the chart in its second week with a 49% decline to 358,959, pushing the albums sales past the one million mark after only 2 weeks in stores and remains the longest run atop the chart for Destiny's Child.[8] In its third week Survivor slipped to number 3 scanning 221,884 and held the same position in its fourth frame with 175,237 copies sold. In its fifth week the album climbed one spot to No.2 with 169,487 scans.[8]Survivor spent its first thirteen weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 (2 more than The Writing's on the Wall) and by the end of 2001 had sold 3,718,446 copies in the US and ranked as the seventh best-selling album of the year, the second year in a row that the group had made the top ten best-sellers list.[8]

Survivor debuted at number one in over nine countries, including the United Kingdom where it was certified 3× Platinum by BPI for sales of over 900,000 and went on to sell over a million copies. It also reached number one in Canada, selling over 31,000 copies in its first week (and was eventually certified 4× Platinum, for sales of 400,000 copies), as well as debuting or peaking in the top ten in Australia, Sweden, Japan, France, Italy, Finland and Poland. With Survivor, Destiny's Child became the first US female group to have a number one album on the UK charts since Diana Ross and the Supremes hit the position 24 years ago with a greatest hits package. Survivor is the first album of original studio material (i.e., not a greatest hits collection) by a female American group to hit number one in the 43-year history of the UK chart.

"Survivor", the album's title track, spent six weeks at the number-two position on the Billboard Hot 100, being barred from the number one position by Janet Jackson's "All for You." "Independent Women Part I" (also featured in the remake film Charlie's Angels and on its soundtrack) occupied the number one slot on Billboard's Hot 100 (for 11 weeks), R&B and dance charts. "Bootylicious" served as the album's third single and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks. "Emotion" was issued as the album's fourth single and continued the group's streak of top-ten hits in the United States, peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. "Nasty Girl" served as the album's fifth and final single and only charted internationally, reaching the top ten in Australia, as well as the top 30 in Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

In Europe the album was certified 2× Platinum in recognition of two million albums sold across the continent; its sales have since surpassed the three million mark. The album was certified 2× Platinum in Australia. The IFPI reported that Survivor was the 3rd best-selling album worldwide of 2001 with 7.8 million copies sold during the year.

With sales over 15 million copies worldwide, becoming the biggest-selling album in this millennium by a girl group and one of the most successful albums of by a girl group.[3]

^* As of December 2009, the album has sold 4,300,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan, which does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music.[83] Combined, it has sold over 4,739,000 copies in the U.S. with additional 439,000 copies sold at BMG Music Clubs.[84] Nielsen SoundScan does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music Service, which were significantly popular in the 1990s.